Shoe sewing machine



1944- F.IASHWORTH ETAL 2,360,455

SHOE SEWING MACHINE Original Filed March 22, 19:9 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 17, 1944. F. ASHWORTH E'I'AL 2,360,465

' SHOE SEWING MACHINE Original Filed March 22, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 1944- F. ASHWORTH ETAL ,465

SHOE SEWING MACHINE originalFiled March 22, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 @QZM Oct 17. 1944. F. AsHwoRTH ET AL SHOE SEWING MACHINE Original Filed March 22, 19.39

5 Sheets-Sheet 4 1527/6! niors Oct. 17,1944. IF. ASHWORTH EI'AL SHOE SEWING MACHINE Original Filed March 22, 1939 5. Sheets- Sheet 5 Patented Oct. 17, 1944 SHOE SEWING MACHINE Fred Ashworth, Wenham, and Carl F. Whitaker,

Beverly, Mass, assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey" Original application March 22, 1939, Serial No.

263,455. Divided and this application September'11, 1940, Serial No. 356,336

11 Claims.

The present invention relates to lockstitch shoe sewing machines, and more particularly to improvements in a rotary take-up for such a machine, in which the take-up acts at one side of the work and a rotaryloop taker for passing loops of needle thread over a locking thread supply case acts at the other side of the work, as disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,271,611, granted February 3, 1942, upon an application filed in the names of Fred Ashworth and Carl F. Whitaker, of which application the present application is a division.

In the machine of the Patent to Ashworth No. 2,015,655of October 1, 1935, there is disclosed a continuously rotating take-up which is surrounded by a stationary enclosing housing for the purpose of preventing escape of thread during rotation of' the take-up. The presence of the housing about the take-up, however, renders the take-up somewhat difficult of access for purposes of adjustment or for threading.

The objects of the present invention are to provide a hook needle shoe sewing machine having a take-up of the rotary type which is easily accessible and which may he threaded without diflicult manipulations' Further objects are to provide simple means for regulating the timing of a rotary type take-up and for making other adjustments thereof in a lockstitch shoe sewing machine in such a way that the cost of manufacture of the machine will not be increased materially, and the machine will not be subject to special difliculties during operation as a result.

Accordingly, an important feature of the present invention relates to lockstitch shoe sewing machines provided with a hook needle and a rotary take-up having a housing including a shield at one side of the take-up and a plate at the other side movable away from the shield to render the take-up accessible for convenient threading. As embodied in the present machine, quickly releasable means is provided for locking the plate in position to confine the thread in the housing. In

the illustrated form of this feature, the quickly releasable means includes a guard for the needle threading mechanism of the machine which, when actuated to unlock the plate, also exposes the needle threading mechanism for convenient threading.

Other features ofthe invention comprise takeup driving means including a gear train, the mesh in the gearsof which is readily adjustable, and other improved constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter'described and understood by one skilled in the art from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating one embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a. view in front elevation of the upper part of a machine embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is a front View on an enlarged scale, partly broken away and in section of a portion of the machine; Fig. 3 is a sectional detail view of the take-up roll and adjacent parts; Fig. 4 is a view in front elevation of the machine with certain parts removed and a portion of the driving gear train for the take-up shown in section; Fig. 5 is a. view on an enlarged scale and in section of a portion of the machine including the take-up with the take-up cover open; Fig. 6 is a view of the driving gear train and housing for the take-up actuating mechanism; Fig. '7 is a detail View illustrating the devices for adjusting the mesh of the gears in said driving gear train; and Fig. 8 is a detail view of an off-center variable speed driving connection for the take-up.

The machine illustrated in the drawings is of the type disclosed in prior U. S. Letters Patent of curved awl 4, a shuttle or loop taker 6, a thread case B mounted within the shuttle, needle threading mechanism including a looper l0 and a thread finger l2, a loop lifter and spreader I 4, a work support IS, a presser foot l8, and a rotary takeup, all similar, except as hereinafter pointed out, to those of the above patents. A driving and stopping mechanism is also provided for bringing a main sewing and actuating shaft I9 to rest with the work free to be removed from the machine.

The take-up, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, includes an arm 20 secured to a rotating shaft 22 and is provided with a roll 24 so actuated as to draw down each needle loop after being freed from the shuttle into the work, set the stitch and give up thread at the times required by the other stitch forming devices. In order to avoid unnecessary strain on the thread, no substantial tension is imparted to the thread by the take-up except when the stitch is being set. At other times, and particularly while the needle loop is being drawn through the work and carried over the thread case, there is a substantial amount of slack thread between the take-up and the work or the take-up imparts only suflicient tension to the thread to cause it to be drawn through the work. The work is fed in the illustrated machine by the movement of the work support and presser foot while clamping the work, as in the machine of Patent No. 1,824,063, and during the engagement of the presser foot with the work a measured amount of needle thread is pulled off from the supply, the thread after measurement being locked against further movement towards or away from the supply until after each stitch is set by the take-up.

The shuttle and thread case are similar to those disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent of Minett No. 2,208,999, dated July 23, 1940.

To prevent escape of the needle thread from control of the take-up roll 24 in the construction embodying the present invention, the arm 20 of the take-up rotates between a stationary shield 26 and a cover plate 28 (Figs. 1, 2 and hingedly mounted on pins 30 secured at the lower end of the cover plate and rotatable in suitable bearings in the frame of the machine. The opposing surfaces of the shield 26 and plate 28 are normal to the axis of rotation of the take-up arm 20, the take-up arm being positioned close to the shield. The inner surface of the cover plate is formed with a circular enlargement 32 projecting towards the shield 26, and concentric with the roll 24 there is mounted on the take-up arm 26 a button 34 (see Fig. 3) engaging the surface of the plate 28. The button 34 is pressed yi-eldingly against the plate 28 by a spring 36 surrounding a headed screw 38 passing through the center of the button 34. To prevent the spring 36 from affecting free rotation of the roll 24, the roll is rotatable on a hollow stud 40 secured in the take-up arm and the spring 36 acts between the button 34 and the bottom of a central recess in the stud 40. When the cover plate 28 is moved about its hinge pins 30 away from the shield 26, the take-up is rendered accessible for convenient threading or inspection, and when the cover plate is moved towards the shield substantially at right angles to the plane of take-up arm rotation, it acts with the shield to confine the thread between the two. The hinge for the cover plate is so arranged that when the plate is in contact with the button 34 on the take-up arm, the weight of the plate tends to hold it in place against the yielding pressure of the button. The cover plate is heated by an electric heater42 inserted in an aperture of a lug on the cover plate, heat being transferred through the button 34 to the take-up roll 24. The heater is connected to the current supply by any suitable arrangement of wires, as for instance, a flexible cable (not shown).

For locking the cover plate in operative position, the frame of the machine adjacent the upper end of the plate has a pivotally mounted guard 44 provided with a downwardly projecting arm 46 which, when the guard is rotated about its pivot 48, moves along the outer surface of the plate. When the guard is swung forwardly (Fig. 5) the arm moves away from the cover plate so that it may be swung to expose the take-up. The upper end of the guard 44 projects in front of the looper I0 and its actuating mechanism dot-dash position so as to shield the lower portions of the looper 18, the thread finger l2, and other adjacent thread handling devices as well as mechanisms for actuating the same from accidental contact while the machine is running. When the guard is swung forwardly to unlock the take-up cover plate, the looper and other thread handling devices are exposed for convenient manipulation or threading.

Connections for rotating the take-up include a variable speed drive between the take-up supporting shaft 22 and a drive shaft 50 mounted parallel to, but with its axis offset from the axis of the shaft 22. The variable speed drive, as illustrated in Fig. 8, is provided by a drag link 52 connected between crank arms 54 and 56, respectively, on the shafts 50 and 22, the shaft 50 being driven atthe same speed of rotation as the sewing shaft [9. Between the sewing shaft l9 and the take-up drive shaft 50 is a train (see Fig. 6) of driving gears 58, 60 and 62 having helical cut teeth. The intermediate gear 60 acts as an idler having bearings in a housing 64 enclosing all of said gears. To regulate the mesh between the idler 60 and the gears 58 and 62, the housing is adjustable in two directions. To regulate the mesh between the gear 62 and the idler 60, the housing is mounted on an eccentric bushing 66 rotatably supported in a cylindrical portion of the frame which forms a bearing for the take-up drive shaft 50, the outer supported surface of the bushing being eccentric with the axis of the shaft. The bushing 66 is provided with a radial flange having arcuate slots 68 through which a pair of bolts 16 pass for securing the housing to the frame of the machine. When the bolts 10 are loosened, the bushing 66 may be rotated to cause the housing 64 to be raised or lowered, thus changing the distance between the centers of the drive shaft 50 and of the bearings for the idler 60. To regulate the mesh between the gear 58 and the idler 60, the housing 64 is arranged to swing about the bushing 66 as a center, and to this end a pair of shafts l2 and 14 are provided which project sufiici'ently to the right of the machine to be received in enlarged openings in lugs 16 (see Fig. 6) extending from the housing 64 and to be engaged by set screws 18 threaded in said lugs, By loosening one of the set screws 18 and tightening the other, the housing 64 is shifted with the idler 60 towards or from the gear 58. To permit adjustment in timing of the take-up, the gear 62 is not connected directly to the take-up drive shaft 56 but the shaft has keyed to it a disk (see Fig. 6) having slots 82 to receive bolts 84 threaded into the gear 62. By this construction, the relative angular relations of the disk and gear 62 may be changed.

As a result of the variable speed drive between the take-up drive shaft 50 and the take-up shaft 22, when the machine is operating at high speeds, there is a tendency for variations in angular movement of the'take-up arm to cause a reaction through the train of driving gears on the sewing shaft I9. In order to prevent or absorb any reaction caused by the variable speed drive on the sewing shaft 19, the gear 58 is yieldingly connected to the sewing shaft I 9 in a manner illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6. The yielding connection between the shaft l9 and the gear 58 includes a hub 86 keyed to the shaft I9 and formed with a circular recess at one end carrying a spring 88 compressed between the bottom of the recess and the gear 58. The gear 58 is provided with an inner bearing surface fitting outside the hub 86 and is caused to rotate with the hub by a series of shouldered screws 90 threaded in the hub 86 passing loosely through slots 92 in the gear 58. The slots 92 are parallel to the axis of the shaft l9 and as force is applied through theshaft l9 to rotate gear-58, the angular relation of the teeth on gears 58 and 60 tends to move the gear '58 lengthwise of the shaft, but'the spring 86 acts in the reverse direction withsufficient force to resist such movement except from reaction of the variable speed drive at high speeds. I

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated, and an embodiment of the inven tion having been specifically described, what is claimed is:

1. A lockstitchshoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch'forming devices including a hook needle, needle threading mechanism, a loop taker, and a rotary take-up, and means for preventing escape of thread from the take-up comprising a shield at one side of the take-up, a hinged plate at the other side of the take-up arranged to swing towards and from the shield to confine the thread between the plate and the shield or to render the take-up accessible for convenient threading, and a pivotally mounted guard for the needle threading mechanism having an arm for locking the plate in a position to confine the thread between the plate and the shield when in one position and to unlock the cover and render the needle threading-mechanism accessible for convenient threading in another position.

2. A lockstitch shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming devices includin a hook needle, a loop taker, and a rotary take-up arm, and means for preventing escape of thread from the take-up arm comprising a shield at one side of the take-up arm, a roll and a plate at the other side of the take-up arm, a button on the take-up arm between the plate and the roll, and means on the take-up arm separate from the roll for forcing the button yieldingly against the plate to prevent passage of the thread between the plate and the button.

3. A lockstitch shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a main frame, stitch forming devices including a hook needle, a loop taker, and a rotary take-up acting to draw each needle loop ,into the work and provide slack in the needle thread as the needle loop is being drawn through the work by stitch forming devices other than the take-up, and means for preventing escape of slack thread from the take-up during sewing comprising a shield ,at one side of the take-up, a plate at the other side of the take-up movable on the frame towards and from the shield, means carried by the take-up to engage the plate yieldingly, and a hinge for the plate arranged to cause the weight of the plate to hold it in place against the yielding pressure of the plate engaging means.

4. A lockstitch shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a sewing shaft, stitch forming devices including a hook needle, needle threading mechanism, a rotary loop taker, and a rotary take-up arm, driving means for the take-up arm comprising a housing and a train of gears one of which is connected with said take-up arm, another of which is mounted on the sewing shaft, and an idler having a bearing in said housing and meshing with said first two mentioned gears, and means for adjusting the housing in two directions to regulate the mesh between the idler and said first two mentioned gears separately.

5. A lockstitch shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a sewing shaft, stitch forming devices including a hook needle, needle threading mechanism, a rotary loop taker, and a rotary take-up arm, driving means for the take-up arm comprising a housing and a train of gears one of which is connected with said take-up arm, another of which is mounted on the sewing shaft; and an idler having a bearing in said housing and meshin with said first two mentioned gears, and means for adjusting the position of the housing bodily to regulate the mesh between the idler and one of said first two mentioned gears, and for swinging the housing about said one gear to regulate the mesh between the idler and the other of said first two mentioned gears.

6. A lockstitch shoe sewing machine having,

in combination, a sewing shaft, stitch forming devices including a hook needle, a needle threading mechanism, a rotary loop taker, and a rotary take-up arm, driving means for the take-up arm comprising a housing and a train of gears one of which is connected with said take-up arm, another of which is mounted on the sewing shaft, and an idler having a bearing in said housing and meshing with said first two mentioned gears, an eccentric sleeve for adjusting the position of the housing to regulate the mesh between the idler and one of said first two mentioned gears, and set screws for swinging the housing about the eccentric sleeve to regulate the mesh between the idler and the other of said first two mentioned gears.

'7. A lockstitch shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a sewing shaft, stitch forming devices including a hook needle, needle threading mechanism, a rotary loop taker, and a rotary take-up arm, driving means for the take-up arm comprising a housing and a train of gears one of which is connected with said take-up arm, another of which is mounted on the sewing shaft, and an idler having a bearing in said housing and meshing with said first two mentioned gears;

an eccentric sleeve for adjusting the position of the housing to regulate the mesh between the idler and one of said first two mentioned gears, and means for adjusting the angular relation of the take-up arm and gear to which it is connected.

8. A lockstitch shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a sewing shaft, stitch forming devices including a hook needle, needle threading mechanism, a rotary loop taker, and a rotary take-up arm, driving means arranged to impart varying angular movement to the take-up arm during a single uniform rotation of the sewing shaft, and a yielding connection in said driving means for preventing reaction of the varying angular movement of the take-up arm from being transmitted through the driving means to the sewing shaft.

9. A lockstitch shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a sewing shaft, stitch forming devices including a hook needle, needle threading mechanism, a rotary loop taker, and a rotary take-up arm, driving means comprising a train of gears having helical teeth, an axially sliding mounting for one of said gears, and a spring for resisting the reaction resulting from the pressure of the teeth on one gear against the other tending to move the gear on the sliding mounting axially.

10. A lockstitch shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a sewing shaft, stitch forming devices including a hook needle, needle threading mechanism, a rotary loop taker, and a rotary take-up arm, a take-up shaft, a drive shaft for the take-up shaft mounted in parallel offset relation to the take-up shaft, a drag link connecting the take-up and drive shafts to provide a variable speed drive for the takeup, a train of helical gears connecting the drive shaft with the SEWing shaft, an axially sliding mounting for one of the gears, and a spring for resisting the reaction resulting from the pressure of the teeth on one gear against the other tending to move the gear on the sliding mounting axially.

11, A lockstitch shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a main frame, stitch forming devices including a hook needle, a loop taker, and a rotary take-up arm acting to draw each needle loop into the work and to provide slack in the needle thread as the needle loop is being drawn through the work by stitch forming devices other than the take-up arm, and means for preventing escape of slack thread from the take-up arm comprising a stationary shield on the frame close to one side of the take-up arm, a plate at the other side of the take-up arm, and a hinge between the frame and the plate at the lower edge of the plate, by which the plate is mounted on the frame for swinging movement towards and from the stationary shield, said hinge being so located with respect to the plate that the plate is held in slack thread confining position by its own weight.

FRED SHWORI'H.

CARL F. WHITAKER. 

